Qatar will spare no effort to alleviate Palestinians' sufferings: Assistant FM

Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, participating in the ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee to coordinate international assistance to the Palestinian people, yesterday.

Doha: The State of Qatar participated in the ministerial meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee to coordinate international assistance to the Palestinian people, which was held via video conference yesterday. 

The State of Qatar was represented in the meeting by Assistant Foreign Minister and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater.

She said in her speech at the meeting that the international community stands today as a silent witness to the plight of the Palestinian people while the Israeli occupation and the siege of the Gaza Strip and Israeli settlement activity in occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank continue without any signs of retreat, even in light of the overwhelming impact of the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic among the Palestinian people, which affected nearly half of the Palestinian population who need humanitarian aid.

She praised the efforts of international partners in trying to provide medical assistance to the Palestinian territories, and pointed out the continuation of the repressive measures of the Israeli authorities and the prevention of shipments of vital vaccines from reaching the occupied Palestinian territories, thus exacerbating the dire conditions caused by the pandemic, indicating that such actions, without a doubt, are a flagrant violation of the charters and principles of international law, and constitute a serious crime against humanity.

The Assistant Foreign Minister said that the State of Qatar reminds that the Palestinian people, like all peoples, have the basic right to life and health, and that these repressive actions taken by Israel hinder the efforts of negotiations and dialogue, with its emphasis on the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative, with East Al Quds as Palestine’s capital on the borders of June 4, 1967 as a way forward to achieve just peace and protect the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

She stressed that the world must not remain silent in the face of the injustice committed against the Palestinian people and the continued deterioration of the social, economic and health conditions in Palestine, which are likely to reach catastrophic levels, leading to a humanitarian disaster that the global community will not bear and will not be prepared to endure.

She affirmed that the State of Qatar stands to support its brothers in Palestine and said that Qatar will spare no effort in working to alleviate the hardships faced by the Palestinian people, as the aid provided focused on urgent needs, in addition to long-term development projects that amounted to more than $1.5bn during the past eight years.

H E affirmed the State of Qatar’s commitment to close cooperation with international agencies, as she contributed to the support of the UNRWA with more than $106m from 2014 to 2020. 

She pointed out that as part of the State's efforts that focus on helping lift the burden of the pandemic from Palestinian brothers, Qatar has provided $150m in urgent aid to the Palestinian health sector, including $1m allocated to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to provide medical supplies and equipment.